Indy: Does Indy die in Good Boy? Dog's fate in the horror movie, explained

A good boi can bring much energy even in a boring film that makes us yawn. But it's daunting when the doggos in a movie die. Take John Wick, for example. What did that dog do? But then it was essential for the plot. Otherwise, we wouldn't have this action franchise full of pain today.

Speaking of dogs, Ben Leonberg recently came up with his feature directorial debut, Good Boy, which is about a dog named Indy, and we see the film from his perspective. The film is yet to be released theatrically, but it already had a premiere at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film & TV Festival this March.

It's a horror film and a daunting experience for Indy, most certainly. Thankfully, he doesn't share the fate with John Wick's dog; Indy doesn't die in the movie. To watch the full film, you will have to wait for its theatrical release, which is on October 3, 2025.

What is Good Boy about?

Now that fans know that Indy will not die in the movie, they should also know that the film begins with a death only. Indy's owner, Todd (Shane Jensen), has moved to a new place after someone close to him died, and he takes his beloved dog with him. However, dark forces don't simply leave, and bad luck has followed them in this new place in Good Boy.

While Todd cannot see the shadowy world around him, his dog can certainly see it, and now he must try to protect his hooman. Thanks to the language barriers between them, things become worse as Indy cannot simply say anything to his owner other than woof-woof.

Todd is also sick in Good Boy, which becomes clear in the film before he and the dog move to this new place. He bleeds and has a seizure at their previous apartment.

As soon as they enter this new place, Indy becomes aware of another 'good boy,' who died here. Not just that, the previous occupant also died here. Todd might not really be aware of any supernatural and malevolent presence, but Indy sees these tormenting occurrences happening in real time.

Like the previous occupant, Todd becomes a target for this dark force, and his dog must do everything in his capacity to do what's necessary to fend off the evil.

What did Leonberg say about making the film?

It's challenging when the lead of a film is a dog. Given that, the director had to be patient and work hard to get perfect shots of Indy for the film. He said in a statement, according to Bloody Disgusting, that:

"When your lead actor is a dog, traditional filmmaking rules go out the window: For three years, my wife (also the film’s producer) and I worked around his schedule — eliciting his ‘performance’ by making silly noises, posing him in specific positions, and enticing him around our ‘haunted’ house with treats."

It wasn't exactly training, as they tried capturing Indy's natural reactions for Good Boy. We will see how naturally that went when the film finally hits the big screens on October 3.

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